Scouting LSU's Newest Tight End

Bossier City, La. - Director of Scouting Scott Kennedy takes a look at LSU's latest tight end commitment John Thomas.

LSU recently picked up a commitment from relatively unknown two sport standout named John Thomas (6'6/240) of Airline High School in Bossier City, La.

Thomas' size and athleticism immediately jump off the screen when watching him in action. He's a fluid athlete for as big as he is, and my first thought while watching him run routes was "I bet he's a basketball player." I wasn't surprised to learn he was a standout on the hard court as well as the gridiron.

He explodes off of the line of scrimmage and eats up chunks of yards quickly with long strides. He has extremely quick feet though, so he gets in and out of his routes well.

Athletically, he's as good as they come, which makes him especially dangerous with the ball in his hands in the secondary. Airline does a good job of moving him around to get him the ball. At times during the season he lined up at tight end and the whole alphabet of receiver positions X (outside), Y (slot), and Z (outside).

While he has dependable hands, meaning he doesn't drop many that he should catch, he also doesn't make the hard catch at this stage of his career. If the ball is a little overthrown or not right on line, he rarely comes up with it.

He needs to improve as a blocker, but mostly because of his technique. If he were a defensive player, the phrase would be, see what you hit. He drops his head before initiating contact and loses leverage and balance. But most importantly, the effort, size and strength are there. He's a willing blocker; he's just a plus blocker yet. Technique is the easy part to improve on.

Here is a look at him action across several games of the 2010 season.

#80 TE John Thomas